Stuart Kettlewell and Brian Caldwell faced a hundred Well Society members for a Q&A session on Monday evening.
The manager and Chief Executive spent an hour responding to questions posed by host Graeme Thewliss and the audience in Fir Park’s Centenary Suite. The pair coped well with some challenging opinions.
Stuart got the ball rolling by repeating his thoughts about the team’s performance against Partick Thistle. His displeasure was evident and he had made that clear to the players when they had to sit through the replay of the game earlier in the day.
A recurring theme in his answers was his passion for coaching both young players and those who are new arrivals. It is an important part of his job to develop, improve and eventually sell for the benefit of the club. He valued the experience the former Academy players gained from their Premier Cup experience and picked out Ewan Wilson and Dylan Wells as future prospects.
Graeme pointed out that he is the third longest serving manager in the top flight and Stuart picked out the recent win at Ibrox and the more than three million euros in transfer income as highlights. He valued the remarkable staff at the club.
He was under pressure when it was put to him that the team lacked goal scorers and wingers. “You don’t score goals by passing backwards”, quipped one questioner. Kettlewell looked back to his start at the club when the team were relegation candidates. He fashioned a method and style that turned the tide. He stated that modern players want absolute clarity about their job on the pitch and that switching systems caused confusion.
His hope for the season ahead was to please supporters by producing results. He recognised the pride fans have when ‘one of our own’ makes progress.
A final question recognised his leadership and produced a round of applause for his efforts.
Brian Caldwell has been in post for a hectic four months and with the Barmack’s investment proposal now removed he feels it is time to make progress with the Well Society to drive the club forward.
He feels the community based nature of the club needs to be exploited and that the fan ownership tag needs to be more prominent. “There are more than 9,000 in the database who do not have season tickets”. What an opportunity to widen the support.
Of the relationship between the Executive and Society boards he took the view that it was his job along with the finance officer to run the club. He spoke of an earlier job where the chairman was in every day, it was easier when he could get on with the job himself.
He paid tribute to the Society board members for their giving of many hours and for the ideas they generate. He looks forward to progressing them.
He saw no prospect of a move from Fir Park, costs would be prohibitive.
Philip Speedie offered thanks to all including the Heritage Group, Former Players, the fan liaison officer, the Community Trust and the Society members for their attendance.